


And Come Again

by periwinklepromise



Series: Ladies of Marvel Bingo [19]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Femslash, Femslash February 2021, First Meetings, Flirting With Customers, Good Customers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29296995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/periwinklepromise/pseuds/periwinklepromise
Summary: Natasha uses her customer voice – a bit too high, overly earnest, sugary sweet – and her customer face – eyebrows high, smile bright, teeth flashing – every time. It always goes away the second she's alone with her coworkers.She hasn't taken two steps when the phone rings.LOMB square W3 - AU: Bakery
Relationships: Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov
Series: Ladies of Marvel Bingo [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1493678
Comments: 10
Kudos: 72
Collections: Ladies of Marvel Bingo 2020





	And Come Again

“And here are your goodies!” Natasha beams as she passes over the brown paper bag with two chocolate croissants and a blueberry tart tucked inside. As soon as she turns away from the customer, the smile slides right off her face; apparently, her job description includes teaching customers how to use their own credit cards. But she uses her customer voice – a bit too high, overly earnest, sugary sweet – and her customer face – eyebrows high, smile bright, teeth flashing – every time. It always goes away the second she's alone with her coworkers.

“I'm gonna run to the back real quick,” she informs her bakery backer, a new kid named Pietro who always forgets to actually _look_ at the _door_ when it _opens_. She hasn't taken two steps when the phone rings. A quick glance confirms the new kid is not going to answer it.

She answers halfway through the second trill. “Thank you for calling Briar Rose Bakery, this is Natasha speaking, how can we help you today?” she rattles off.

“Hello, Natasha, my name is Maria.” The voice is smooth with an underlying tension. “I do apologize for this, but is your bakery capable of accommodating large orders on short notice?”

Natasha holds back a sigh and confirms that for today, they have enough inventory on hand to accommodate this request.

“Thank you, Natasha. I will be there shortly.”

“Thank _you_!” Natasha effuses. Once the call ends, she bolts down to the manager's office. It remains locked, for both annoying and legalistic reasons, but Yelena answers it quickly. “Got an incoming.”

“How bad?”

“I'll let you know.”

Natasha makes her way back to the front counter. “Thank you for waiting,” she calls out to the customer standing patiently at the register. Pietro snaps forward, apologizing and ringing them up; he's not bad when he's actually paying attention.

Natasha tidies up the barista station as she waits, just to keep her hands busy. She would send Pietro on break, but with that lady coming in soon, she should not risk it.

A group of sorority girls sweep in, clearly choosing selections to take pictures of rather than actually consume. They cluster in the far corner, so Natasha decides to tune them out for her own peace of mind.

The bell over the front door rings again. Natasha looks up as a matter of course, and then stops in her tracks.

The brunette is beautiful. She is made of all sharp edges, her jaw, her collar, her headset, the tailoring of her suit. Her eyes are cold, her mouth a stern line, and she does not seem the kind of woman who put this order off to the last minute. She steps to the register, clearly takes a breath, and then softens, somewhat. There is a little bit of warmth creeping into her blue eyes, a glimpse of a polite smile at her lips as she says, “Hello, I spoke to Natasha earlier about a large order?”

Natasha steps forward, customer face firmly in place. “You must be Maria,” she enthuses, and if she allows her posture to be better than she normally lets customers see, then this is not worthy of notice. She suspects Maria notices, all the same, eyes searing down her frame. “I'm Natasha. Welcome to Briar Rose! Now how many people are you hoping to treat today?”

“Fifty-five expected, in less than an hour,” Maria reports easily. She clenches her jaw, and Natasha tilts her head in compassion. Maria explains, “Someone else was originally responsible for acquiring catering this morning. We only recently discovered they failed to do so.”

“And now you have to pick up the pieces.” Natasha nods in understanding. “Any allergies we should worry about?” she asks as she slips on some disposable gloves.

“Let's leave nuts to the end, just in case.” Maria now takes a glance at the bakery display. “Does this establishment prefer to lose inventory concentrated in only a few items or spread across them all?”

It is a surprisingly thoughtful question, Natasha must admit, the bakery's needs later in the day never considered by customers. “We do strive to have a variety of options for our customers each day,” she states diplomatically.

“Alright, then.” Maria checks her watch and winces. “I'll defer to your expertise for what to purchase. How much can we package in six minutes?”

“Plenty,” Natasha assures her. “Pietro, can you please ring her up as I package?”

Once he is in position, Natasha begins, rattling off her selections – large quantities of the most popular pastries, tasters for those delicacies that do not sell quite as well, a separate box for the cranberry walnut muffins and pecan rolls and macadamia nut cookies. As she changes her gloves for fresh ones, she instructs Pietro to add a sampler cake to the order; more expensive than buying a full cake, yes, but a crowd pleaser if there has ever been one. Then it is a simple matter to construct another box for fistfuls of napkins and utensils.

The total is certainly not the highest she has ever seen, but it is not often they can withstand such an order with no notice. Natasha cannot find it within herself to resent this woman for doing what Natasha so often curses others for doing. There is something about those eyes, she thinks.

Natasha insists on walking Maria out to her car, the three shopping bags full of treats _possible_ but not advisable to carry single-handedly. As she passes her two over to Maria, she plasters on her sugar sweet grin and suggests, “Next time someone drops the ball, you just give us a call.”

“I will, thank you.” Maria looks at her as she says this, eyes fixed upon her, fully in the moment. Natasha is accustomed to being treated as disposable, and it is refreshing to be seen, if only for a moment. Maria shakes her hand, and Natasha pockets the folded bills without a glance down, though she does of course fall over herself showing gratitude; customers appreciate the performance.

When she returns to Pietro's side at the front counter, she unfolds eighty dollars. It would be nice to have so much money to spend at a bakery, she thinks, handing half the amount to Pietro and slipping the rest back into her pocket.

It would be nice to have so much money at all.

When Maria calls Briar Rose Bakery a month later, asking for their services once more, Natasha prepares a suitable order before she even appears, and Maria does not blink an eye at the price or at the personal phone number written on a coffee sleeve. Natasha does not blink an eye at the eighty dollars pressed into her hand, or the gentle swipe of Maria's fingertips against Natasha's pulse.

There truly is _something_ about those eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> I work at a bakery. You can probably tell :/


End file.
